My Current Interest

     Olivia really, truly has got to go.  She is incredibly obnoxious.  To make matters worse, Mel and Angie act really immature when they deal with her.  Even when Olivia is hardly in the book her actions grate on my nerves.  She is definitely a character that has to go.                    Business has been slow at Fairy Tale Cupcakes.   When an opportunity comes along to sell their cupcakes at a rodeo,  bakery owners Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura think it’s a great idea.   At first, they think they will be able to bring only one other person with them, but everyone involved in the bakery insists on coming along.   That makes five people, in a new cupcake van, on a road trip out of town. Road Trip Treats /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      Upon arrival, selling cupcakes at the rodeo seems like it will be a great adventure as well as good for business.   Then, Sli...

          It’s funny how something you watch or read can affect you.  In the seventh season of Endeavour , whistling down a dark towpath plays a big part of the season’s three episodes.  Not long after I watched these episodes, someone whistled down my street.  This is not a usual occurrence, and it made me jump.  I have to wonder, had I not just watched this particular storyline, would I have been so startled or jumped so high?  Or would I have not thought about it at all?                              At the end of season five, the police station where DS Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) worked was closed, and the team broken up.   In season six, Morse is back in uniform, PCS Reginald Bright (Anton Lesser) is the head of Traffic, and DI Fred Thursday (Roger Allam) is working for a DCI named Ronnie Box (Simon Harrison).   As ...

          What is with books lately and feeling authors are writing about me?  Not literally, of course.  But writing about characters and putting them in situations I find so familiar .  I have to wonder if other readers sometimes feel this way with books they come across.  It is kind of eerie in some ways, but it is also nice to know you are not alone.               It’s the 75 th anniversary of the Women’s Society Club.   To celebrate, president Paxton Osgood has arranged for the celebration to be held at the newly refurbished Blue Ridge Madam, a house (more like a mansion) built by the ancestors of a woman named Willa Jackson.           The house hasn’t been owned by the Jackson’s for generations.   Not since Willa’s grandmother was a young woman.   Now Paxton has renovated it into a bed and breakfast, ready to...

The List /Artwork by Kate Dorsey               If you have ever seen the documentary Meet the Patels , I suggest you read this book.  Even if you have never seen the film, read this book.  It is a funny story about families who care, even in ways you don’t want them to.                  Raina Anand has hit the dreaded age of twenty-nine.   For some this is not a dreaded age.   In the Indian community Raina grew up in, it is.   At least it is for Raina.   Because at the age of twenty-nine, she is not married.              Years ago, Raina made a deal with her grandmother, Nani.   If she was not married by the time she turned thirty, she would let Nani help her find a husband.   Only Nani decides to start on this deal a year early.   She gives Raina a list of eligible men...

Cleric /Artwork by Kate Dorsey                I’m doing something a little different this time.  Usually when I write a review, I start at the beginning of the series.  In fact, I usually have to start at the beginning of what I watch or read whether I’m going to review it or not.  Not this time.                 The reason I’m doing things differently with Grantchester is because I don’t actually like this show until season four.  Now, having watched seasons four and five, I am eager to see what is going to happen next.  But I will not be going back to any of the earlier seasons.                 To be fair, I did try and watch the first seasons of Grantchester .  Immediately, with the first episode I didn’t care for it.  Yet, I tried again to see if maybe it im...

                 Despite this movie being set at Christmas time, I wouldn’t call it a Christmas movie.   The holiday itself plays such a little part in what is going on.   Instead, the story is far more about relationships and finding yourself than anything to do with Christmas.                 Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) is heartbroken.   The man she has been in love with for years is engaged to another woman.   A fact announced at the company holiday party.                 To escape with her grief, Iris decides to put her house up for a temporary trade.   Someone will stay in her Surrey cottage while she stays in their home.   The woman she swaps homes with is Amanda.                ...

             One of the big things I have always admired about Jessica Fletcher is the opportunities she gets to travel.  In The Highland Fling Murders, she travels to England and Scotland.  Two places I would love to see.  Unfortunately for Jessica, murder gets in the way of a good time.                 Mystery writer Jessica Fletcher is finally taking her friend, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector George Sutherland, up on his offer to visit his castle in Scotland.  She will be staying there, along with eleven friends from Cabot Cove.  But first she must do some book promoting in London.  After that, she and her friends will be able to go off to the small village of Wick in Scotland.                 What starts out as a great adventure quickly turns terrifying when two of ...